


Dao Of The Salted Fish (Salted Fish Cultivator)

by bafflinghaze



Category: Original Work
Genre: (more xuanhuan than xianxia), Calm protagonist, M/M, Slice of Life, Transmigration, Xianxia, Xuanhuan, cultivation, slow build (?)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-12 10:49:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 14,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29383728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bafflinghaze/pseuds/bafflinghaze
Summary: Wen Zhihao is tired of life. When he dies...meh. That’s life.But when he gets transmigrated into the body of a young cultivator of the prestigious Golden Sun sect, full of possibilities...no thanks! He has no effort/energy to work hard on cultivation! He just wants to be a salted fish!...it turns out sleeping = meditation and absently watching beautiful scenery = meditation.And meditation = cultivation...This is not the Dao of Indifference. This is the Dao of the Salted Fish!! With calm emotions, Wen Zhihao accidentally cultivates strongly!...but he’s still a salted fish, bah. Don't make him fight!Feat: slow build / slice of life~
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Comments: 27
Kudos: 23





	1. 1. The Golden Sun Intra-Sect Competition! …[So] What?

**Author's Note:**

> For the proper footnote experience, read this over on [scribblehub](https://www.scribblehub.com/series/214431/dao-of-the-salted-fish-salted-fish-cultivator/), which also has the most chapters too
> 
> [cover link here](https://bafflinghaze.tumblr.com/post/641495371165630464/dao-of-the-salted-fish-salted-fish-cultivator)
> 
> I did a one shot in a cultivation setting ([Blooming Flowers Of My Heart](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26852749)) where I dipped my toes into writing in this setting.
> 
> This can be considered like a somewhat longer soak in the cultivation world. Basically, it should be around 50k. It’ll be casual, no serious angst. I mean, the title is about being a salted fish1...take that as you may…
> 
> _  
> 1\. salted fish: a person who is lazy/unmotivated/without ambition  
> _

The Golden Sun Sect was one of the largest righteous cultivation sects, with its lands spanning from the ocean up to the dazzling mountains. Majestic buildings and exquisite gardens shine with righteous spiritual energy, matching the temperament of the richly robed cultivators.

Right now, loud cheers and chatter were coming from the Outer Battlegrounds, where the outer disciples were competing to advance into the inner sect. Each year, the top ten will be able to exchange their dull yellow robes for bright golden robes.

“AHH!!!”

“He’s down!”

Noise roared up as one disciple knocked down another. A plain sword fell to the ground with clatter a distance away, forgotten. The disciple still standing gave a cocky grin, his eyes narrowed, daring for the fallen one to get up.

The referee, a peak Golden Core1 senior cultivator began the countdown. “Three! Two! One!”

_ 1.Qi Refining < Foundation Building < Golden Core < Nascent Soul < … “Peak” means that the cultivator is close to advancing to the next stage.  _

The fallen disciple’s dull yellow robes almost matched the dusty tan ground, his black hair in disarray. He did not get up.

“Victory goes to Wang Li Wei!”

The crowd cheered, especially Wang Li Wei’s friends. “Congratulations! Congratulations!”

Wang Li Wei’s cocky grin grew as he looked at the fallen disciple. He adjusted his expression to modesty and bowed to the referee, thanking her for her care.

The Golden Core cultivator nodded and handed him an inner sect token and gave him instructions.

Little did anyone know that the moment the disciple fell, a new soul had transmigrated over.

Wen Zhihao had his breath knocked out of him. For a moment, he was in disbelief. He had somehow survived that accident? Was the pain going to hit any moment now?

In the next second, he was in _more_ disbelief as the memories of the original owner, and the memory of his own death, crashed back into him.

He had died just after submitting the tenth revision of a project for his asshole boss. He was glad as hell to not have to do an eleventh revision.

He was still alive.

Damn it! Where was the void of nothingness he was promised after death?

Instead, he was in the body of an outer sect cultivator also named _Wen Zhihao_ , a late-stage2 Qi Refining cultivator. Qi Refining was the very first stage of cultivation: the original ‘Wen Zhihao’ had the misfortune to be one of those people who worked hard yet got barely anything out of it.

_ 2\. Early-stage < Middle-stage < Late-stage < Peak are the sublevels _

As Wen Zhihao received all the memories of the original ‘Wen Zhihao’ working _so hard_ to even get to the late-stage of Qi Refining...Wen Zhihao had a headache.

He just ended one stressful life. He had _no fucking intention_ to have a second stressful life! And why were people being so noisy?!

“Disciple, do you need a healing pill?”

Wen Zhihao stirred, blinking weakly at the cultivator referee. His body felt sore, but it was bearable.

But did he _need_ to bear it?

“If shifu3 is willing…” Wen Zhihao mumbled.

_ 3\. master _

“Here.”

Wen Zhihao accepted the small pill and found it remarkably easy to swallow dry. Immediately, warmth flowed through his body. That warmth was _qi_. It cleared his meridians and healed his aches.

Wen Zhihao felt better than ever! He smiled thankfully at the Golden Core cultivator and was able to stand up. “This junior is extremely thankful.”

The Golden Core cultivator just gave him an unimpressed look. She had given him the lowest of her healing pills, was this junior trying to ingratiate to her?

“Allow this junior to depart and not take up any more of your precious time,” Wen Zhihao followed with a short bow. Then he wandered away.

The Golden Core cultivator snorted and forgot about the disciple very quickly, heading off to convene with the other referee cultivators.

Wang Li Wei scowled when he noticed that Wen Zhihao was leaving. “Wen Zhihao! Where are you going!”

“How does it feel to come so close yet lose to Wang-shixiong4?” one of Wang Li Wei’s friends crowed.

_ 4\. senior martial brother _

Wen Zhihao blinked at them. “Eh? Congratulations,” he said, his tone dismissive.

From the memories of the original owner, Wang Li Wei liked to bully and suppress the other outer sect disciples, and especially the original ‘Wen Zhihao’. The original ‘Wen Zhihao’ often fought back, and focused so much time and effort into (failing) cultivation that he had a low EQ5. But the current Wen Zhihao was a mature adult. He had no interest in squabbling with some teenagers. (16, 17, 18, 19 years old? Still teenagers!)

_ 5\. emotional intelligence _

With that he entered the crowd with intent to get away from the noisy crowd as soon as possible, leaving Wang Li Wei and his martial brothers pissed off. But they had to bite down their feelings for now, lest the senior disciples revoked Wang Li Wei’s promotion.


	2. 2. A typical xianxia bullying scene? *sigh*

Back when he was still alive in 21st century Earth, Wen Zhihao had worked in a small dim room that was too hot in summer and too cold in winter.

As a remote worker, he was expected to be “on call” 24 hours a day, working hard to earn the boss money in hopes that he could climb the corporate ladder. His window faced the monotonous facade of the next housing buildings over, a most uninspiring view as he worked overtime and didn’t get paid for it. He was almost ready to die of overwork when he submitted the tenth revision of the latest big project.

On the first trip outside in ages down bird-poop-filled streets, he was too tired to stop-look-listen-thinking before crossing the road...

...

Death was fine. He didn’t care either way.

Wen Zhihao’s initial reaction to being transmigrated here was _hell no_.

But now, as he escaped the clamour of the competitions, he felt better.

His eyes feasted on the vibrant flowers and luscious greenery of the Golden Sun Sect. He listened to the gentle rustling leaves and he breathed in the floral and grassy scents of the gardens.

This! With each inward breath, outward breath, he felt as though his meridians were being cleared, as though his muscles were being infused with energy.

Could he set camp here? Roll out some bedding to nap here under the warm sun?

All those disciples training so hard to thrash each other do not appreciate the beauty of their surroundings.

“ _You….give...stupid…_ ”

Indistinct words broke up Wen Zhihao’s tranquillity. He immediately frowned. He tried to ignore the chatter, but instead, it made him more and more frustrated.

_“...Please, let me go…”_

_“I saw you looking at me like that...you need to pay…”_

Wen Zhihao: _..._

 _Fuck this!_ He felt like a cranky old man in his twenty-something-years of age. Anyway, the original owner was also a teenager; the combination of their ages made him thirty-plus years old in total, right?

With a dark face, Wen Zhihao strode towards the dastard disturbance in the gardens. 

In a corner of the garden, against the wall of a storage building, were a number of dull-yellow robed outer-sect cultivators crowding around another disciple.

“Oh, come on, fight me, why are you so scared today?” the strongest of the junior cultivators, a young woman named Wu Qingqing, smirked, her eyes flashing with malicious glee as she toyed with her victim. Her hand rested easily on the sword hanging by her waist, and her robes shifted in a breeze caused by her qi.

The young male cultivator looked up at her, heavily suppressed anger not showing in his light-brown eyes. “I need to go, shijie1,” he said, dipping his head.

_ 1\. senior martial sister _

“Ehh, come on, Sun Fuyu!” one of the other cultivators cajoled. “Wu-shijie is taking the time out to help you!”

“Forget it, just check his pockets, I know he has some spiritual stones. Wu-shijie would put them to better use.”

Su Fuyu’s eyes flashed in panic when the other cultivators pushed him against the wall. “I earned them fairly!”

A blood vessel pulsed in Wen Zhihao’s forehead. _These bloody kids!_ (They were teenagers.) _What the hell is with this typical xianxia bullying scene?_

“What are you children doing?” Wen Zhihao scowled. He had completely forgotten that his current body was only two or three years older than the other outer-sect cultivators gathered here.

Wu Qingqing bristled. “Do you want to fight? Seeing you here...you must have lost to Wang-shixiong2 again, heh?”

_ 2\. senior martial brother _

That’s right, Wu Qingqing knew the original ‘Wen Zhihao’, and she knew she would never be as untalented as him.

“You _dare_ disturb the peace of the gardens? You _dare_ draw your sword here?” Wen Zhihao stared down the ‘little children’. Annoyance whirled up in his chest. He wanted to snap at them but remembered just in time that he shouldn’t speak so harshly to young children, because it was bad for their upbringing. _Sigh!_

Softening his voice, he said, “Why don’t we all just part ways? A fight is a waste of both our time.”

Wu Qingqing’s eyes narrowed. She felt a thread of wariness at Wen Zhihao’s cool and calm demeanour. In the past, Wen Zhihao would be bursting to fight to practice, his qi chaotic and messy. He would lose to her every time. But right now, Wen Zhihao’s qi was like waves on the beach. Calm and too steady.

Wu Qingqing was not stupid enough to charge into a fight. Wen Zhihao must have acquired a magical artefact and was purposefully goading her to fight in a battle of trickery.

Wu Qingqing sneered. “Of course, I will be magnanimous and save you losing face3 again today.” With a careless toss of her head, she addressed her friends. “Martial brothers and sisters, let’s go do something fun.”

_ 3\. reputation, image _

With that, she and her group departed.

Wen Zhihao rolled his eyes. _Kids these days_. He nodded politely at junior disciple Sun Fuyu and turned away. His eyes brightened again when he heard the tweets of birds.

_Peace and quiet again!_

Luckily Wu Qingqing didn’t want to fight, because Wen Zhihao had no idea whether or not his body had the combat memory of the original ‘Wen Zhihao’!

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I’ll just switch between using chinese terms (like shijie) and english ones (martial sister) whenever I feel like it... (unless somehow has a Really Strong Opinion?)
> 
> Also, interested in BL~? There is a [Boys Love Newsletter on ScribbleHub](https://www.scribblehub.com/series/217122/boys-love-newsletter/) 💙


	3. 3. Wen-shixiong…

Sun Fuyu’s eyes stared at Wen Zhihao’s back as he walked away.

Wen-shixiong1 walked calmly and without hurry, as though he had already forgotten about the matter.

_1\. senior martial brother_

He must be very strong to be so carefree.

Sun Fuyu’s feet followed him.

He too had seen Wen Zhihao around before. Wen Zhihao was the one at the sword training field the longest. He never looked Sun Fuyu’s way before, and Sun Fuyu had his own troubles to look out for, so he never paid attention to Wen-shixiong either.

Until now. Wen Zhihao was the first person…

Ah! Sun Fuyu had forgotten to thank him! Why was he so stupid and forgetful?? This is why he was alone...

...But he shouldn’t disturb him…

Wen-shixiong’s hair and robes were dishevelled, yet he seemed completely relaxed, head tilted upwards as though to catch the sun like a plant spirit.

Sun Fuyu couldn’t figure out the pattern of Wen-shixiong’s movements. Was he searching for something? Was that why he scared off Wu Qingqing and the others?

Whatever it was that Wen-shixiong was doing, he clearly wasn’t in a hurry. His long fingers idly caressed the leaves and flowers, and his aura was content.

That was because Wen Zhihao was indeed content. The stresses and anxieties of his past world melted away like the gentle washing of waves. Wen Zhihao suspected that the gardens in the Golden Sun sect had to be constructed to reduce heart-demons.

It was in this thoughtful state of mind that Wen Zhihao received more of the original ‘Wen Zhihao’s’ memories. With idle curiousity, Wen Zhihao moved his arms, mimicking holding a sword.

It seemed that indeed, he could probably remember the basic sword cultivation forms. But the original ‘Wen Zhihao’ had worked so hard to advance. Progress would only get harder and harder, and the 'new' Wen Zhihao could not see the point. 

He would rather do the minimum and have a good life. He was never going to be the strongest. He wasn’t born with _any_ talent for sword cultivation. So why _bother_ trying to become the strongest?

There were much more interesting things in life than training with swords 23 hours a day...

For example...food.

  


  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol, this won’t become another dedicated food fic, but there _will_ be food <(￣︶￣)>


	4. 4. Meat bun

In the Golden Sun Sect, there was a large banquet hall that served specially-refined food for the disciples who had not yet practiced inedia and still needed to eat.

The original ‘Wen Zhihao’ had achieved a minor level of inedia, he only needed to eat once a week. However, the specially-refined foods of the Golden Sun Sect were...quite plain. It was probably to help motivate disciples to learn inedia, and to reduce attachment to ‘mortal’ matters like food, and thus improve cultivation.

But since improving cultivation wasn’t an issue for Wen Zhihao, he would rather have something delicious.

(And who asked the original ‘Wen Zhihao’ to join the kind of sect where delicious food was shunned?)

Yet, no matter how Wen Zhihao tried to ‘remember’, he couldn’t find any memories about the location of the kitchens. However, he suspected it would be near to the banquet hall. So, skirting around the noisy front facade of the building, Wen Zhihao headed to the back.

The scent of food was its own reward. Somehow, he could even smell the fragrance of freshly cooked rice.

Aware of his appearance, Wen Zhihao patted his hair and dusted off his robes, ready to ask for some food from the chefs. If it didn’t work out, then he could try his luck looking for chilli sauce at the normal villages and towns outside of the sect—it wasn’t urgent, as Wen Zhihao wasn’t _hungry_ per se, he simply wanted to eat.

Plan decided, Wen Zhihao headed towards the half-open door. He was about to knock when the door opened fully from the inside.

“Ah?” the aunty chef came to a halt. She looked like a middle-aged woman, with neatly tied up hair and a sensible apron. She was carrying two buckets of murky water.

“Good afternoon, aunty chef,” Wen Zhihao said, bowing lightly. Not too much, or else it would seem mocking.

“Young master cultivator, the entrance to the banquet hall is on the other side…”

Wen Zhihao shook his head. “Does aunty chef have spicy foods and sweet foods? If aunty chef allows, this junior disciple is also willing to cook!”

Wen Zhihao was hoping that this middle-aged person was one of those people who always liked to feed others, _and_ he hoped his apparently-18-ish aged face would help win her over.

(And if it didn’t work, he could just run away and never see this person again.)

Aunty chef, a mortal woman named Liu Jing, was very, very accustomed to self-important young cultivators (and self-important old cultivators) who demanded very particular food, to the point that it was hardly cooking and more measuring out ingredients for medicine.

Looking at this young, mischievous looking cultivator though, Liu Jing softened.

“Some of us staff have some big pots of dishes.” She listed some of them and watched as Wen Zhihao’s eyes grew larger and larger with anticipation, as though he was already imagining the taste in his mouth.

“Can I really have some?”

Liu Jing chuckled at his eager expression. “En, we can prepare a box of dishes for you.”

Wen Zhihao immediately nodded. He patted around his robes and remembered to check his sleeves. “How much does it cost?”

Liu Jing immediately shook her head. “We won’t take payment from a disciple. Come, come.”

Wen Zhihao obediently followed Liu Jing. The kitchen was a large, long room, with many plain-robed workers bustling about. Liu Jing found one of the travel food boxes and filled it with an assortment of dishes. She also conscientiously packed a small bamboo tube of spiritual water and eating implements.

Wen Zhihao nodded, eyes bright, whenever she looked at him. “Is there anything I can do for you?” His voice was unexpectedly serious.

Liu Jing patted his head. “Cultivator, our _job_ is to feed you. No payment necessary. Now go and enjoy your food.”

“Yes, aunty.” Wen Zhihao took the packed lunch and went out.

He marked a little note in his heart, though.

During his explorations so far, he had already mentally marked the locations that were well frequented and those that weren’t. Wen Zhihao strode to one of the secluded locations. With the sun overhead, the leaves of the tree cast a dappled shade, so it was not too hot.

Wen Zhihao was settling down when he noticed movement. Looking up, he realised it was that kid from before.

“What are you doing in the bushes? Come out, bah.”

Sun Fuyu slowly slinked out. “Greetings to shixiong1…I...”

_1\. senior martial brother_

Wen Zhihao smiled faintly. This shidi2 was a bit nervous. “It’s lunchtime. Are you hungry? Come sit.”

_2\. junior martial brother_

Sun Fuyu immediately shook his head. “I won’t bother you, shixiong. This shidi wanted to say thank you to you for the matter before, that’s all.”

“It’s fine, a small matter,” Wen Zhihao said breezily. He looked at the selection of food in his box and picked out a plump meat bun. “Shidi, come here.”

Sun Fuyu took a step closer. His eyes widened in surprise, but he was able to catch the meat bun Wen Zhihao threw at him.

“Easy to hold, easy to eat, okay?”

Sun Fuyu nodded, clutching the meat bun. “Thank you, shixiong!” He bowed his head and ran off.

Wen Zhihao’s eyes softened in amusement. Such a gentle youth...maybe that was why he was getting bullied. He hoped that he could gain some confidence in the future. But that wasn’t Wen Zhihao’s responsibility.

Instead, his responsibility right now is to enjoy the food he had worked hard to gather!

Aside from a few more meat buns, there was also rice, and many accompanying side dishes, including stir-fried beef, braised pork, stir-fried garlic spinach, pickled vegetables…

Wen Zhihao picked up the chopsticks and tried each. Ah!! The meat was so tender, the vegetables had an almost sweet taste, even the _rice_ was delicate and lovely. The food gave him a burst of warm energy.

Wen Zhihao’s eyes curved into contented crescents.

*

Meanwhile, Sun Fuyu finally stopped running. He harshly berated himself. Running away, how childish was that?! He couldn’t help but look at the meat bun. His chest felt a little sour. It was a few years since he was taken from the streets, since he had gone truly hungry. The Sect was good at feeding the younger disciples, and Sun Fuyu’s inedia ability was slowly increasing, meaning that he didn’t need to eat as much, supplementing his body with external _qi_ instead.

But for Wen-shixiong to give him this meat bun… Sun Fuyu took a bite, and the soft sweetness of the bun and the savouriness of the meat flooded his taste buds. It was good.

Sun Fuyu’s heart quivered. _What was Wen-shixiong’s meaning for this?_

_  
_

_  
_

_  
_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little rabbit Sun Fuyu nibbles on his meat bun.
> 
> (Give him a little heart? 🥺🥺)


	5. 5. Exploration

After eating, Wen Zhihao explored the various items on his body and found that the original owner indeed had a spatial item—a small ring tucked in one of the sleeve pockets.

Not that there was much in it: some low-grade spiritual stones, a few jade slips, and a spare set of clothing. He placed the food box (which still had some food) inside the spiritual space, dusted off his butt, and went to further explore the grounds of the great Golden Sun Sect.

The original owner had not seen the entire grounds—for one, he hadn’t known the kitchen’s location. Anyway, recalling these things from the original owner’s memory was not as clear as recalling it from Wen Zhihao’s own memory.

The Golden Sun Sect was very prosperous: it had multiple large buildings and pavilions, included expansive gardens, had its own river and surrounding mountains—where some of the top cultivators resided. There were many smaller courtyards, and separate halls for things such as medical supplies, spiritual stones, weapons etc. In short, the Golden Sun Sect was like a university joined with a university-town.

It was a feast for Wen Zhihao’s eyes: the buildings were well kept in the ancient styles, with exquisite decorations and colours. The gardens were delicate and infused with natural and sculpted beauty. He only wished he had a camera to capture the sight because there were so many photogenic spots. His fingers twitched for his phone more than once…

Maybe he could figure out if there was a phone-like equivalent...But without any internet, what was the point?

The cultivators, for the most part, were also beautiful, scaling up with their cultivation, i.e. had symmetrical faces, smooth skin, clean hair, youthful looks (aside from the ones that looked old on purpose), and robes that fluttered in the breeze. While there seemed to be two separate styles of robes for the men and the women, Wen Zhihao did see some cultivators wearing the opposite, and some other cultivators skipping the uniform entirely, wearing vaguely yellow/gold robes instead.

Eventually though, more and more of those cultivators started appearing on the grounds as the evening approached. So Wen Zhihao returned to ‘his’ room.

The original Wen Zhihao was one of the older outer sect disciples. Unlike the inner disciples who had their own courtyards, the outer sect disciples were housed in the two large dormitory buildings. Each person had their own room, as to promote secluded cultivation.

Wen Zhihao’s room was near the top of the dormitory building, which had a lift powered by spiritual stones. The room itself was plainly furnished with a bed, cabinet, and low desk, and there was a very small private bathroom.

Wen Zhihao’s eyes went a bit disappointed as he looked at the wooden bed and hard ‘pillow’. He wanted the comforts of the 21st century…

He sat down at the low table and took out the items in the spatial storage ring. He munched on the last of the leftover buns and washed it down with the spiritual water, and mused on what he could do. Using the spare set of clothing as a pillow was his best bet. He could look for more cloth later to pad everything else out.

Then he went through the original owner’s jade slips. They were filled with complicated sword cultivation techniques...blah! Wen Zhihao finished university a few years ago, he didn’t want to force himself to study again.

With nothing else, Wen Zhihao cleaned himself up and got onto the bed.

Hm, lying on his side was uncomfortable, but lying on his back was not bad.

….

The rooms had good sound insulation spells; it was very quiet. In the plainness of the room, Wen Zhihao’s thoughts wandered.

If he transmigrated...then his original body died, and the spirit of the current body is likely dead or gone.

He couldn’t help but think. Would his divorced, estranged parents even _care_? It seemed that the original owner’s parents were even more absent. No one was close with the original owner, which meant Wen Zhihao didn’t need to overly act to pretend to be the original.

But more importantly, what about all his things? Like his beloved computer. His fingers twitched. He wanted his phone. He wanted to scroll, laugh at weakly amusing memes, and read long transmigration novels until he was tired enough to fall ~~unconscious~~ asleep.

If he died again in this world...would he return to his original world? Too risky, if his body in the original world was dead, and not in a coma like in some transmigration novels….was _this_ world a novel? But he had never read a novel that had a character with his name...

In that case, he needed to make sure that he wouldn’t get kicked out of the sect. Neither he nor the original owner knew how to make a living outside the provisions of the sect.

These thoughts spun round and round Wen Zhihao’s head, without a phone and internet connection to shut them up.

The only kind of reading material in the room were those jade slips that contained cultivation techniques.

Wen Zhihao really felt the agonising press of ‘last resort, nothing better to do’. Maybe it was like his university textbooks and lectures: if they’re so boring, he could fall asleep while reading them?

Wen Zhihao finally found a jade slip that _wasn’t_ about sword cultivation—not in the spatial storage, but left carelessly on the cabinet in the room. The reason was because this was a cultivation 101 sort of jade slip, containing the most _basic_ of cultivation techniques: meditation.

There was a spark of interest in Wen Zhihao’s eyes. He quickly read over it, adding the information to his own memory. Then, he got back into bed, closed his eyes, and started to breathe in and out. His body automatically moved its qi in an act of muscle memory.

Breathing in and out was a lot like counting sheep jumping over fences, or dumplings in a bowl, except it was counting qi flowing in and out of his meridians. The light focus on the movement of qi and the counting slowly suppressed Wen Zhihao’s chaotic thoughts, and at an unknown time, he fell asleep.


	6. 6. Sword practice? You mean *exercise*? Thanks but no thanks…

_Eh, what number am I up to now?_

When Wen Zhihao woke up, he found that his breathing was still even, qi flowing in and out like the waves on the beach.

_Knock knock knock!_ “Disciple, get up!”

Wen Zhihao startled, his heart rate beating faster with an ingrained reaction to listen to commands.

...Wait, why did he have to listen anyway?

Wen Zhihao got up, placed everything in his spatial storage, and sedately opened the door.

Zhang Wu was an early stage golden core cultivator, dressed in the golden inner disciple robes. His face was dark with annoyance, eyes flicking with distaste over Wen Zhihao’s rumpled appearance. “It’s time for morning sword practice. Don’t delay it for everyone else!”

The thought of swinging a sword and doing _exercise_ made Wen Zhihao feel tired. “What if I want to become a talisman cultivator instead?”

The original owner’s memory vaguely had mention of talisman cultivators, and Wen Zhihao had also read a number of talisman cultivator novels. He could totally do that instead because all he needed to do was sit down and draw! There was a lot less sweat involved, a lot more suited to a programmer like Wen Zhihao.

Zhang Wu’s face went from annoyance to anger. “Stop making excuses! Shidi, get out this minute! Are you looking down on the Sect??”

The qi around Zhang Wu fluctuated like sharp pinpricks.

Wen Zhihao grimaced a little. “Okay, okay, stop yelling.” _I’ll indulge you_ , he thought to himself. While Zhang Wu looked like he was Wen Zhihao’s age, maybe the ancient times made people angrier and more juvenile?

“Good!” Zhang Wu said, even angrier. He turned on his foot and walked quickly. Stomped, really. Wen Zhihao followed him, mildly wondering if Zhang Wu would go into that infamous qi deviation due to his anger. Or maybe it was simply Zhang Wu’s nature, rather than a heart demon.

The outer sect disciples’ sword-practicing field was near the outer parts of the Golden Sun Sect, relatively near the outer tournament arena. The field itself was a large paved square, flanked on the sides with buildings. Dull-yellow robed disciples stood in neat lines, swords in their hands, and many of them looked with unfavourable expressions at Wen Zhihao, which really did not make Wen Zhihao more inclined to all this.

“Get into line!” Zhang Wu said.

_Ah, crap_. “Eh, Shixiong, I forgot my sword,” Wen Zhihao realised. He forgot to pick it up when he lost that fight during the Intra-Sect competition.

Zhang Wu’s eyes went red with anger. “You forgot your _sword?_ What kind of cultivator are you???”

“...I left it at the arena, I’ll return quickly.”

Zhang Wu’s eye twitched. “Hurry up!”

Respectful of Zhang Wu’s inner peace, Wen Zhihao walked quickly to the arena. There was an inner disciple in charge of things, and when she heard about Wen Zhihao’s forgotten sword, her face took on a distasteful expression.

“Yes, I know exactly where your sword is. You, out of the hundreds of outer sect disciples, was the only one to forget their sword.”

Wen Zhihao gave a sheepish smile. “This junior disciple has bothered you.”

The cultivator passed him back his sword, and he quickly headed back to the training field.

Zhang Wu had already started everyone on the basic forms. With a glare across the field, Wen Zhihao got the message and stood at the back and got into position.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Wen Zhihao** : Kids (Zhang Wu) these days are so strung up. Better not stress them out, it'll be bad for their development ╮( ˘_˘ )╭


	7. 7. Eh, I can’t be bothered fighting. You win, ba.

Thinking back to the original Wen Zhihao’s memories, all outer sect disciples had weapons practice at the rise of dawn, every day.

The first thing was for all the disciples to practice the dozens of basic forms. Wen Zhihao followed his body’s muscle memory and jumped to the form that all the disciples around him were doing.

The sword of the original owner was a basic single-edged blade, without many adornments. Its name was simply _Silver Blade_ , and no, it wasn’t one of those swords that people underestimated, it truly was plain.

Without skills, the Sect would not assign higher grade weapons, and the skills of the original owner was extremely normal. The original owner had hard work, but absolutely no talent. And in a world with hundreds of cultivators...hard work was simply not enough.

At first, Wen Zhihao tricked himself into being amused with swinging a sword around while moving his qi at the same time. _Swish! Fwoosh! Imaginary stab!_ But as the training progressed, the sword felt heavier and heavier, and it wasn’t fun at all.

Why didn’t the original owner choose a lighter weapon, like a fan? Why did the original owner insist on training with the sword which he clearly had no talent for?

Wen Zhihao’s moves turned sloppy by the end of the basic training, completely unlike the clean and sharp movements of the other disciples. When Zhang Wu at the front announced the next phase, Wen Zhihao sheathed his sword in relief.

In the next phase, disciples could either pair up to spar with a partner or continue solo practice. Across the square, disciples moved about, some calling out requests for duels.

“—Wen Zhihao! Fellow disciple Wen Zhihao!”

Wen Zhihao: ... _what now?_

He turned towards the sound, standing at ease as Wang Li Wei and his group strode up to him.

Now that Wang Li Wei had exchanged his dull yellow robes for golden robes, he really stood out from his gang. There was one other person in his group who also had golden robes, but Wang Li Wei had more opulent decorative and magical items and a flashier looking sword. Technically, now that Wang Li Wei was now an inner sect disciple, he didn't _need_ to be here during this practice session. He must have other motivations.

“Wen Zhihao,” Wang Li Wei repeated, posing with a hand on his sword hilt. “Tch, tch, first time you arrived late. Did your defeat rattle you that much? You’re going to become one of the oldest outer sect disciples…”

That would be true. As outer sect disciples got older, if they were unable to advance into the inner sect, many of them would decide to leave for smaller sects, or the branch sects, instead of continuing to live under the outer-sect allowance and minimal privileges.

But in Wen Zhihao’s point of view, the outer sect disciples lived comfortably, given the Ancient China-like setting. He didn’t mind being an old outer sect disciple.

“...Look at him, in a daze,” Wang Li Wei said to his cronies friends, smirking. “Come on, let’s fight. We’ll see whether or not today is your lucky day. How many defeats has he had already?”

“Over twenty!”

“Over a hundred!”

“Over three hundred!”

With a _shhhing_ , Wang Li Wei drew his sword. “Let’s duel.”

Wen Zhihao yawned. “I don’t care about your pissing contest.”

Around him, disciples’ jaws dropped.

“ _He...swore!_ ”

“ _Has he reached his limit? Is he going to turn into a demonic cultivator now?”_

Wang Li Wei’s mouth twitched into a sneer. “Are you _scared_?”

Wen Zhihao blinked slowly at the teenager. “You’re stronger than me, happy? You’re a very good boy,” he said in a placating tone. _Hm, I’m hungry...oh, I promised that auntie chef that I would help her…_ Wen Zhihao gave the group a polite nod. “Work hard, okay? Goodbye.”

Wang Li Wei was speechless as he watched Wen Zhihao’s disappearing back. His face went red. _What did he just say??!!!! Did he just **ignore** me?? How dare he!_ “That...that Wen Zhihao!”

Wang Li Wei’s friends quickly agreed. “How dare he speak like that?!!”

“How rude!!”

But Wen Zhihao didn’t look back.

More than one person noticed Wen Zhihao’s exit. The supervisor cultivator Zhang Wu for one, his forehead twitching in anger at Wen Zhihao’s laziness.

And Sun Fuyu on the other side of the square. He wanted to follow, wanted to know what Wen Zhihao was planning to do. But he couldn’t leave, not while Wu Qingqing swung her sharp sword at him!

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Wen Zhihao** : I, your father, am telling you to go practice nicely, okay? That’s a good boy.
> 
>  **Wang Li Wei** : !!!! ノಠ益ಠノ彡┻━┻
> 
>  **Sun Fuyu** : *thinking: ...why is _he_ a good boy…*


	8. 8. Spicy noodles and a useful flying sword

Many cultivators were diligently practising in the morning, so Wen Zhihao’s path to the kitchens was relatively unimpeded. He hopped over the wall and knocked on the kitchen door to alert the workers.

“Ah! You’re back,” auntie chef Liu Jing appeared behind him.

“Greetings, Aunt Liu,” Wen Zhihao said, bowing politely. He took out the empty food box from his storage space and returned it to her. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Liu Jing shook her head. “Young master cultivator, you should return to your training.”

“I already finished. Don’t be polite, I can do a lot of things,” Wen Zhihao said.

“Hey, a strong boy can help me,” one of the older male workers called out.

Liu Ling made a face. “Old Tang, you really shouldn’t—”

“Okay, okay, don’t be polite,” Wen Zhihao greeted Mr Tang. “What can I help you with?”

“We need to transport the ingredients for the day from the sect’s fields,” Old Tang said.

“I can definitely do that.” Manual labour was really too straight forward. Wen Zhihao followed a group of men and women to the vegetable fields of the Golden Sun Sect. These vegetables were grown on spiritual water and thus were free of impurities and suitable for cultivators.

The farmers had prepared baskets of harvested vegetables, and all they needed to do was carry them back. However, there was a lot, and there was a section they needed to walk before they could reach the cart to load it.

Thinking a moment, Wen Zhihao looked at his sword.

 _Swords...that can fly_.

He thought carefully, going through the original owner’s memories. Injecting just enough qi into the sword made it float. _Heh, success!_ Like that, Wen Zhihao hung the baskets of vegetables on the sword, such that they were held up by their handles.

The other workers were speechless. This...this _cultivator_ used his sword like a mere pole!

Wen Zhihao easily transported the sword and hanging baskets to the cart, and then went back again to continue.

With his help, it went quickly and easily, and then the cart was pulled by a horse to the kitchens.

Liu Jing oversaw the arrangement of vegetables into the kitchen. Her expression was a little exasperated when she looked at Wen Zhihao.

“Young master cultivator, is there something you want?” she finally asked.

Wen Zhihao decided to nod. “Do you happen to have spicy noodles?”

“I can make them quickly,” Liu Jing said.

And so someone pulled up a seat for Wen Zhihao, and he sat down and watched Liu Jing cook. In this ancient setting, they didn’t have convenient gas or electric stoves. Wen Zhihao briefly took over the task of feeding the under-stove flames with wood.

The noodles were made fresh and cooked quickly in boiling water. Liu Jing quickly stir-fried some vegetables and meat and mixed into various spices. She finally presented him with a bowl of spicy noodles.

Wen Zhihao’s eyes brightened as he smelled the rich, spicy scent. “Thank you, aunt Liu.”

“Eat, eat, no thanks needed,” Liu Jing said.

Wen Zhihao slurped up some noodles. The flavours were just as good as his favourite instant noodles, but the noodles themselves were even better.

“Ah, such a healthy appetite,” Old Tang said. “You are a curious cultivator, young man.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to sit with the other cultivators in the banquet hall?” another food worker asked, frowning.

Wen Zhihao shook his head. “Your atmosphere is much preferable. Auntie, do you have more chilli?”

Liu Jing’s lips twitched. She already made the noodles spicy. “Fine, fine, here.”

Wen Zhihao happily spooned more chilli oil over his noodles and tucked in. His happily-enjoying-food expression also whetted the appetite of those around him, and so they all had noodles (with varying levels of spiciness) that morning.


	9. 9. The definitely-not-cute demonic beasts

As food was being prepared for the cultivators, the leftovers and scraps would be used to feed the demonic beasts.

Wen Zhihao volunteered to help carry the baskets of food scraps and leftovers. He went with Old Tang, once again carrying the baskets with his sword. They went via the servants’ footpaths that went behind the buildings and were disguised by high fences and greenery, so they did not come across any other cultivators.

The demonic beasts lived in an enclosure that included half of one of the mountains. There was a large sprawling building that went from the base of the mountain and climbed slightly up the mountain. At the lowest level was the enclosure for the baby and young demonic beasts. They were cared for by the animal-tamer cultivators.

The food scraps they had were more suitable for the young demonic beasts; the baby demonic beasts had a special baby formula, while the older beasts hunted for themselves on the mountain.

Wen Zhihao went up the enclosure, with his laden sword floating beside him. He looked through the lattice fence with interest. His eyes almost turned into hearts.

The demonic beasts...they were kittens!

Kittens, in real life! That kitten was sleeping, and that kitten was being mischievous, and that kitten over there was annoying another kitten…

Wen Zhihao was a netizen, and he was indoctrinated by cat videos. To see such kittens and young cats in real life...too good!

Screw being a sword cultivator, maybe he could be an animal-tamer type cultivator instead!

Old Tang chuckled. “Young master, perhaps you should give them their food.”

Wen Zhihao blinked. “Yes, yes of course!”

There was an inner sect disciple named Huang Jialing standing near the enclosure. She was the one who opened the gate for him. The two of them entered, and she quickly closed the gate behind them. Wen Zhihao could also sense that there was a magical ward in addition to the physical fence.

“Be careful,” Huang Jialing said, “these are dangerous demonic beasts.” She shooed the kittens, leading Wen Zhihao to the animals’ food bowls.

“They’re so cute…” Wen Zhihao muttered under his breath. He wished she didn’t shoo them away. “Don’t tell me you use abusive training to make them vicious?”

The other cultivator scowled. “If you are so buddhist, why don’t you go to a temple to cultivate instead?”

“If you can give me some recommendations, that would be good,” Wen Zhihao said absently. He wandered away from the other cultivator. Carefully arranging his long robes, Wen Zhihao crouched down. “Here, kitty kitty.”

One of the pure white kittens gave him an unimpressed look, raised its nose, and walked away.

Wen Zhihao: …

So it turned out that they were pretty smart?

Wen Zhihao took a handful of food and held it out. “Do you want to eat? You’re all so beautiful…”

A brown-furred kitten trotted over in curiousity. “Meow!” it said.

“Meow?” Wen Zhihao replied, having no idea what he was saying. “Here.”

The kitten dipped its head and ate from Wen Zhihao’s hand.

Wen Zhihao (inside): (≧∀≦)ﾉ

The meaning of life, complete.

With one curious kitty came another. Wen Zhihao set down all the baskets of food. While some of the kittens didn’t care for Wen Zhihao, others came over to play.

Old Tang watching this from outside the enclosure didn’t know what to think about it. “Young master cultivator, I will leave you, okay? Remember to bring the baskets back!”

“En, walk slowly, Old Tang!” Wen Zhihao nodded at cultivator Huang. “They won’t hurt me, you don’t have to stand so vigilantly.”

Huang Jialing narrowed her eyes. “Then I will not be responsible,” she said and turned around.

Content, Wen Zhihao petted a purring kitten. Blissful!

  


  


  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Demonic beast: When I grow up, I’ll be super strong! Defeat you!
> 
> Wen Zhihao: *only hears _meows_ * yes, yes, you’re super cute!! (づ￣ ³￣)づ
> 
> Demonic beat: *grrrr* (petting feels too good)….I’ll accept you...for now…
> 
> Huang Jialing: ...
> 
> ALSO I have a new cover for Salted Fish! Isn't it super cute????  
> 


	10. 10. Sun Fuyu and the Scary Demonic Beasts (kittens)

Sun Fuyu was finally thrown back, defeated once again by Wu Qingqing. At least this time, he had lasted longer.

Wu Qingqing flicked off her sweat with distaste. “Sun-shidi, good practice. I’ll see you again tomorrow.”

Sun Fuyu lowered his gaze, not letting her see his dark eyes. Covering his mouth with his sleeve, Sun Fuyu swallowed a low-grade medicine pill, which soothed away the internal damage.

“ _...that_ ** _bastard_** _Wen Zhihao!_ ” came Wang Li Wei’s voice.

Wu Qingqing and her group met with Wang Li Wei and his group. “ _He ran away? He ran away last time I met him._ ”

“ _Did he get scared_ ** _now_** _?”_

“ _He’s such a pitiful cultivator, he’s a drain on the sect’s resources.”_

 _“With that attitude, it won’t be long before the elders kick him out!_ ”

Sun Fuyu gritted his teeth and ran over to them. “If you both think you’re so good, why don’t you fight each other?! Wen-shixiong is above you little ants! Demonic cultivators? You all are worse! Fake white lotuses!”

Wang Li Wei’s face went red with anger. “You little—!”

Sun Fuyu drew his sword and quickly flew away.

He scanned over the sect, and his sharp eyes picked out Wen Zhihao in the demonic beasts enclosure.

...Wait, _inside_ the demonic beasts enclosure?! But Wen Zhihao was a sword cultivator! Sun Fuyu narrowed his eyes and descended down for a closer look.

Closer, closer…

The demonic beasts had small, sharp teeth and small sharp claws. Despite it, Wen-shixiong was _hand-feeding_ them and _petting_ them.

This kind of behaviour...what kind of enlightenment had Wen-shixiong obtained? It was not something Sun Fuyu was familiar with at all.

Sun Fuyu’s fingers tangled with the lattice fence. His expression was wary when a demonic beast stalked up to him. He knew full well how vicious stray animals could be, and these demonic beasts were even more powerful.

Wen Zhihao followed the path of the kitten/demonic beast. He was a little surprised to see Sun Fuyu. His figure seemed lonely, standing there by himself on the other side of the fence, with a look of suspicion towards the little kitten.

“Oh, Sun-shidi,” Wen Zhihao said with a welcoming tone. “Do you want to play? Come here.”

Sun Fuyu lowered his head. “Yes, shixiong.”

Wen Zhihao opened the gate and quickly ushered Sun Fuyu in before any of the kittens could run out.

“These demonic beasts…” Sun Fuyu started.

“Cute kittens,” Wen Zhihao said calmly. He patted Sun Fuyu on the back. “Don’t be scared of them. If nothing else, this shixiong is here, aren’t I?”

Sun Fuyu’s head lowered even more. “En.”

Wen Zhihao’s lips twitched. Such an obedient teenager! Parents would love such a child. He patted Sun Fuyu on the shoulder—he couldn’t ruffle his hair, lest he wanted to destroy the neat hairstyle.

Wen Zhihao sat down on the ground. Sun Fuyu crouched down, his cheeks faintly red. Under Wen Zhihao’s shameless bribing of the kittens with food, they gathered around the two junior cultivators and happily played. Some of them climbed over Wen Zhihao’s lap, and a daring one climbed up Wen Zhihao’s back, claws digging into his robes.

Sun Fuyu looked at Wen Zhihao’s bright eyes and teasing of the demonic beasts. When Wen Zhihao glanced at him, a quizzical look on his face, Sun Fuyu immediately looked away, focusing on a small golden-furred cat demon. But he could still feel Wen-shixiong’s gaze.

Sun Fuyu couldn’t understand it at all. _Wen-shixiong was not like this before...did he receive some kind of tribulation? Enlightenment? He still hasn’t claimed my debt towards him…_

Wen Zhihao’s lips quirked up in amusement. Sun Fuyu poked at the ground, looking a little annoyed, with flushed cheeks. Wen Zhihao was sure that aunties would love him. Almost as cute as the kittens.

Not long after, a gong tolled. Sun Fuyu immediately shot to his feet.

Wen Zhihao glanced up at him, his other hand still ruffling the fur of one of the kittens. “Going somewhere? No need to hesitate.”

Sun Fuyu bowed his head. “Please excuse me, Wen-shixiong, I have classes!”

Wen Zhihao stood up and led Sun Fuyu out of the demonic beast enclosure. “Study well.”

“Yes!”

With that, Sun Fuyu took out his sword and flew away.

Wen Zhihao watched his receding figure. In fact, he probably had classes too, but he didn’t care. He graduated from university already and had no intention of attending more structured classes. Also, sitting on the ground for extended periods of time, writing with the calligraphy brush? He’d get cramped legs and probably be chased out with his shoddy handwriting.

Better not return to his room where certain people can find him though, Wen Zhihao decided. All the more reason to stay here with the kittens!

  


  


  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sun Fuyu with cat ears and a cat tail.
> 
> Wen Zhihao: *nods seriously* Very cute.
> 
> Sun Fuyu: _Hissss!!!_ I’m not cute! I’m a cultivator!
> 
> Wen Zhihao: *turning his face away, or else he’ll burst out laughing*  
> 


	11. 11. Flying! (Definitely Not An Escape)

In the early afternoon, Wen Zhihao finally left the kittens’ enclosure. Unfortunately, Huang Jialing wouldn’t let him have _any_ of them. Not even to borrow for a few days!

“And don’t come back, what if they imprint on you?!” Huang Jialing yelled.

 _But you said they needed a blood pact and that it can’t happen randomly_ , Wen Zhihao thought, but was too lazy to argue.

Remembering how Sun Fuyu flew on his sword—and now that Wen Zhihao had reclaimed his own sword—Wen Zhihao finally got to experiment with flying himself. While it looked dangerous, everything was probably saved with magic qi, right?

The original owner’s memories contained the skill to fly. First, take out the sword. Second, inject it with qi, and control it so that the sword floated. Then, stand on the sword. A little bit of qi was used to stabilise one’s feet, then it was a matter of continuously feeding in qi to maintain the sword’s flight.

Wen Zhihao soon got the hang of it as body memory kicked in. His lips curved up unconsciously. He was flying!! Hahahah, not a bird, not a plane, it’s him!

He increased his altitude, high up and over the rooftops. The Golden Sun Sect was just as pretty while flying overhead. The brightly coloured, well-kept roof tiles and the delicate greenery made it look like a painting.

He visited the aunts and uncles who worked in the kitchen, returning empty food baskets, and received a new full food box.

Wen Zhihao was pretty sure there were afternoon classes too, so with his new full food box tucked away into the storage ring, Wen Zhihao decided to escape explore the outskirts/outside the sect.

There hadn’t been any great righteous faction v.s. demonic faction battles in the area for hundreds of years. The natural landscape was lush and brilliant, the air clear of pollution, and the qi pure.

Filtered through a mild qi shield that also helped his aerodynamics, the wind brushed through Wen Zhihao’s hair. Flying really was amazing, and he could imagine why Harry Potter liked it when first entering the magical world.

Wen Zhihao spotted a slightly clear grassy area partway up a deserted mountain, sparkling bright green under the sun. The buildings of the Golden Sun sect were small now; it was probably far away enough. Wen Zhihao descended.

The rich qi made the environment correspondingly rich. The grass was just as lush as it looked, soft like a carpet. Wen Zhihao took out his spare set of robes to use as a makeshift picnic blanket/pillow and laid down.

Green trees fringed his sight, the blue sky and scattered white clouds overhead.

It was a shame that he couldn’t take a picture.

It was a shame that there was no one else he could share this view with…

Wen Zhihao sighed, feeling bone-weary and tired.

In his previous life, and in this world...there were no close friends who would like to do this kind of thing. _Ba_ , forget it.

There was nothing urgent to do. There was no urgent deadline to keep him tossing and turning. Wen Zhihao yawned, closed his eyes. Felt the warmth of the sun on his face. Listened to the sweet bird chirps and the wind through the trees and the sound of rushing water a little ways away, and took a quiet nap.

  


  


  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wen Zhihao: Morning nap, afternoon nap, staying up late, waking up late...that’s the life *nods seriously*
> 
> Zhang Wu: ノಠ_ಠノYou're supposed to be a sword cultivator!!
> 
> Wen Zhihao: *can't hear, because he's asleep*


	12. 12. Wet water trickled down his back…

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled light across the surface of the water. Warm mist rose from the hot springs. There was a bubbling sound of water pouring into the pool. Piles of clothes were dropped messily on the surface of a dry rock. A figure descended into the water, broad shoulders, slim back, and long black hair that floated across the surface. It could be seen from the back that he was naked.

The man dipped his head under the water and rose again, flicking droplets of hot water. He let out a low sigh and leaned back against the water. Water trickled down his face, his eyelashes dark with wetness.

Wen Zhihao settled into a comfortable position in the hot springs.

The surfaces and floor of the hot spring were fairly smooth and even. It was probably human-made, but there wasn’t anyone around. Wen Zhihao had checked—or else, how could be brave enough to enter naked?

The hot water was like a warm hug, washing away the grime of the last few days; any impurities seemed to just dissolve away.

In fact, Wen Zhihao had been out on this secluded mountain for a few days already. His “nap” turned out longer than expected, and he didn’t wake until some inquisitive birds landed on his face and tried to peck at his hair the next (?) day. He could now see why and how cultivators could go into seclusion for so long. They probably slept for ten days at a time. Anyway, since cultivators live longer than mortals, ten days was nothing.

He had spent the following days exploring the area on foot and on sword, napping whenever it took his fancy, sat on grass, on tree branches, on his sword, and nibbled on steam buns kept warm and preserved in his spatial storage space.

Sitting/floating in the hot pool, Wen Zhihao’s mind easily slipped into thoughts.

Like what to do when he went back to the Sect.

With inedia, he didn’t have to eat often, which cut down on food expenses. If he wanted to stay in the Sect, he needed to contribute somehow, or train in order to contribute in the future. Since he didn’t want to be a sword cultivator, Wen Zhihao needed to think of what was the minimum he needed to do to live relaxedly.

Wen Zhihao tilted his head back into the hot water. The feeling of long wet hair was amusing. There also _had_ to be some kind of cultivation magic that kept it from tangling.

His coding skills from modern earth would not get him a job here. But maybe he could be a delivery guy. A flying sword was obviously very convenient.

En, not a bad idea.

With that problem solved, Wen Zhihao washed his clothes and idled the rest of the day away in the hot springs.

It turned out that he could indeed fall asleep in a bath as well, and apparently hold his breath for a very long time by using qi to refresh the air in his lungs instead… (phew! or maybe he would have died and transmigrated again to somewhere worse…)

When he finally exited the hot springs, his skin glowed and was not wrinkly at all. Dressing in his now dried clothes, Wen Zhihao wondered where he should go next.

He took flight into the air, eyes widening when he spotted three golden robed cultivators flying his way.

Their impressive auras reached Wen Zhihao before they did. The three of them slowed down upon approaching him, and all three of them gave him a _look_.

The tallest of them had sharp eyebrows, stern eyes, thin lips, and perfect posture. Lin Yijun was the top disciple of the Golden Sun Sect, just below the Elders. “Outer sect disciple, why are you here?” he demanded.

Wen Zhihao put his hands together. “Greetings to seniors,” he said politely. “Shidi was practising flying. Please excuse me, I have to return back to the sect now.”

Lin Yijun narrowed his eyes. “Very well.”

Wen Zhihao bowed again and flew away.

“Tch,” one of the other cultivators said. “If he was flying, then we would have spotted him earlier.”

“A spy?”

Lin Yijun watched until the outer sect disciple truly entered the sect area. “Later,” he said decisively.

He continued his flight down to the Clear Heart Hot Springs, whose water contained highly concentrated fire and water qi. Its harmony, without being explosive, made it have special healing and cultivation properties. Vials of the water were specially preserved to use to wash wounds, and a soak in the pool could heal the majority of wounds and enhance cultivation. A too-long soak though could cause cultivators’ minds to wash away, with multiple accounts of cultivators completely changing after staying in too long. It was a powerful place to advance cultivation but deceptively dangerous at the same time.

A powerful array surrounded the area that prevented cultivators looking for it to find it: Lin Yijun and his two fellow cultivators had special tokens that allowed them access, tokens that were never handed to outer sect cultivators.

Lin Yijun put the matter of the outer sect disciple out of his mind as he and his two friends descended into the pool. He had more difficult matters to think about.

_Meanwhile_ , back at the Golden Sun Sect, Wen Zhihao dropped by the Clothing Hall. 

There was one main cultivator in charge, and he gave Wen Zhihao a cold look. “Yes?”

“Sorry to trouble you. Do you have any soft pillows?”

“ _Soft_ pillows?”

“...Or blankets? I’m cold…”

“ _Cold_.” The cultivator’s gaze became disdainful. _How weak. He must have been a soft young master_.

Wen Zhihao nodded.

“...Very well.”

Because Wen Zhihao wanted “normal”, i.e. uncharmed blankets, the price was cheap, and he had more than enough sect tokens to exchange. Wen Zhihao stuffed all of them into his spatial storage and headed back to his room to make the comfiest blanket nest.

  


  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *cough cough* I just wanted to have one of those “intense descriptions of a person (typically the love interest)” that a lot of stories seem to have, except it's not a love interest, just our plain MC~
> 
> Wen Zhihao: ........(doesn't know how he should react, eventually walks away)


	13. 13. Eh, but I don’t want to be the best sword cultivator…

_Knock knock knock!_ “Disciple, **GET UP!** ” 

Wen Zhihao didn’t want to get up from his comfy and warm blanket nest. Was there a method to use qi to circulate sound away?

_Knock knock knock!_

Wen Zhihao sighed. “Wait!”

“ **HURRY UP!** ”

Wen Zhihao stuffed all the blankets into his spatial storage (this was called planning!) and opened the door to see the angry cultivator Zhang Wu.

Zhang Wu exploded. His qi similarly exploded out. “Where have you been?!! You have missed out on all your practices and all your classes! You used to be one of the hardest working disciples. At this rate, you may as well leave!”

Wen Zhihao inhaled, exhaled. “Breath, Zhang-shixiong. I was in secluded cultivation.” That was the excuse he prepared earlier.

Zhang Wu snorted and huffed and glared. Unfortunately, when he checked Wen Zhihao’s cultivation, he could see that it _had_ raised....in fact, he had reached _Foundation Building 1_ already! How did he pass through peak Qi-Refining so quickly? And there wasn’t any disturbance around the dormitory building that would have marked the tribulation2

_1\. Recall that the main levels are: Qi-Refining < Foundiation Building < Golden Core ..., each with sublevels Early-stage < Middle-stage < Late-stage < Peak_

_2\. In particular, disturbances in qi. For the higher advancements, this is can be accompanied by lightning from Qi-Refining to Foundation Building._

“You weren’t cultivating _here_.”

“Hm, of course not. Too noisy. I cultivated in a secluded place outside the inner walls.”

Zhang Wu huffed in annoyance. So it turned out this wayward disciple _had_ been working. “I’ll accept that. But _now_ you need to come down to morning practice.”

Wen Zhihao sighed. “I rather not.”

“!!!!! Don’t you want to be the best sword cultivator?”

“No.”

“ _Why not?!_ ”

Wen Zhihao smiled. “How can I ever be better than you, Zhang-shixiong?”

“That...you…! You have to try!”

“Even _you_ aren’t the best, correct?” Wen Zhihao continued mildly. “Is it worth it? Why do _you_ want to be the best? Are you projecting?”

Zhang Wu’s brows became darker and darker. “I don’t care! Come along!”

“Okay,” Wen Zhihao agreed, too lazy to argue further. The feeling of arguing was very unpleasant.

He followed Zhang Wu out to the practice field and steadily ignored everyone as he took an empty space in the rows of disciples.

The other disciples shuffled a little away from him as Wen Zhihao’s movements changed. Instead of the standard movements, there were embellishments, sudden slashes and stabs. And yet, the qi around Wen Zhihao remained stable, as though he was perfectly calm and in control.

 _Is this an advanced set?_ one disciple thought sourly.

 _Is this part of Wen-shixiong’s new cultivation technique?_ Sun Fuyu wondered.

 _He’s definitely up to something_ , Wu Qingqing thought. She narrowed her eyes and worked harder on her own practice, because she was _not_ going to lose to the loser Wen Zhihao.

 _Swish, stab, fwoosh, slash…_ When one hand became tired, Wen Zhihao switched the sword to his other hand to see how that felt. Then he held the sword with two hands. He wondered if he could do some anime sword tricks...

In short, he was messing around.

  


  


  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wen Zhihao: *swish, slash stab!* I hope I look cool (ง˙o˙)ว
> 
> Sun Fuyu: Very cool!
> 
> Zhang Wu: ....... ARGGGGG!!


	14. 14. Spending time with shidi/shixiong

When Zhang Wu announced the start of the next stage of practice, Sun Fuyu immediately dashed! He dodged Wu Qingqing and her group, went around Wang Li Wei’s group (now without Wang Li Wei who now practiced with the inner sect disciples), and came to a rushed stop in front of Wen Zhihao.

But now he was here, Sun Fuyu’s resolve weakened. When Wen-shixiong disappeared for days...Sun Fuyu was scared it was because of him.

“Sun-shidi?” Wen Zhihao prompted, eyeing the others trying to approach them.

“Wen-shixiong….can we practice together?”

Wen Zhihao’s lips quirked up in amusement. “Do you really? You will defeat me, I’m sure.”

Sun Fuyu frowned, looking extremely cute. “Wen-shixiong is strong!”

“Alright,” Wen Zhihao decided to indulge him. Even though he wanted to coax Sun Fuyu to make friends his own age, he had the sneaking suspicion that he didn’t _have_ friends.

“Sun Fuyu! Why did you run all the way here?” Wu Qingqing said. “Come, it’s time for our morning duel.”

“Wen Zhihao! You’re not running away this time!” one of Wang Li Wei’s friends said.

Wen Zhihao smiled at these posturing teenagers. “Wow, I never knew Sun-shidi and I were so popular.”

Okay, okay, he shouldn’t tease kids but sometimes he couldn’t help himself.

“WHAT ARE YOU ALL CLUSTERED AROUND HERE FOR?” Zhang Wu shouted, stomping towards them. “I said PARTNERS not GROUP BATTLES! Scatter! You! Wen Zhihao! Who is your partner?!”

Wen Zhihao patted Sun Fuyu on the shoulder.

“Good,” Zhang Wu said shortly. He glared at the other disciples, forcing them to scatter.

Wen Zhihao wasn’t so impolite as to throw away his sword practice duel with Sun Fuyu. The two stood a distance apart and began.

After Sun Fuyu didn’t move, Wen Zhihao made the first move. His sword swung, slicing silently through the calm air. Sun Fuyu immediately burst into action. He dodged Wen Zhihao and countered. _Slash! Clash! Shhhing!_

Sun Fuyu’s momentum was extremely good, Wen Zhihao slowly stepped back and back. At this point, Wen Zhihao was just dodging and deflecting Sun Fuyu’s sword. His robes fluttered around him. After an initial burst of fear, Wen Zhihao returned to his calm state. Sun Fuyu wasn’t actually striking _him_.

“Good, good,” Wen Zhihao said. After all, praising young people was good for them. “I concede.”

Sun Fuyu immediately stopped, eyes wide. “But shixiong…”

“You are much better than me,” Wen Zhihao said truthfully. He could see that Sun Fuyu was controlling the momentum of the duel so that neither of them would get hurt. “You should practice with someone who actually knows what they’re doing.”

“Ah? But before?”

“I was making random moves,” Wen Zhihao laughed. He patted Sun Fuyu on the shoulder. “I’m going to have breakfast now.”

Sun Fuyu looked at him with burning eyes. He didn’t need to say anything, Wen Zhihao knew. Sun Fuyu was surprisingly easy to read.

“Okay, okay, you can come with me.”

And that was how Wen Zhihao obtained a little follower. He took Sun Fuyu to the kitchen and introduced him to all the kitchen staff.

“This is Sun Fuyu, he’s my shidi, please look after him.”

“Welcome, cultivator Sun,” the workers said politely.

Sun Fuyu nodded. His eyes swept across the workers, unable to hide his unease of them.

Wen Zhihao was amused, patting Sun Fuyu on the head. “Come on, keep close to me then, okay?”

Sun Fuyu nodded obediently.

“Do you want spicy noodles again this morning?” Liu Jing asked, her lip curled in amusement.

Wen Zhihao pretended to think deeply. “How about...scallion pancakes?” He turned to Sun Fuyu. “How about it?”

“If Wen-shixiong thinks it’s good…”

Wen Zhihao turned to Liu Jing. “Scallion pancakes, please, Auntie!”

“Alright, alright. They’ll be ready in an hour.”

Wen Zhihao nodded and went to help Old Tang. Together, they helped the staff move fresh vegetables from the field to the kitchen, and Wen Zhihao showed Sun Fuyu just how useful a flying sword could be.

“Wen-shixiong…” Sun Fuyu spoke up. “If you have a spatial ring, then you can use that too…”

Wen Zhihao internally face-palmed. “You’re right! You’re so smart, shidi!”

Sun Fuyu lowered his head in embarrassment.

Using his spatial ring, moving fresh vegetables was even faster. They returned to the kitchen with their harvest.

Liu Jing and the other chefs soon made huge piles of scallion pancakes for everyone. Wen Zhihao made sure that Sun Fuyu had a full plate. Sun Fuyu’s eyes grew round at the fragrant and crispy pancakes in front of him.

“Say, how is your inedia?” Wen Zhihao asked. “How often do you need to eat?”

“Every two or three days…”

Wen Zhihao nodded. As expected, Sun Fuyu hadn’t advanced as much yet.

“It’s probably useful to practice inedia, in case you come upon the situation when you can’t eat,” Wen Zhihao mused out loud. “That said, food can be used as a source of qi!”

After all, food contained energy, and qi was...energy. Wen Zhihao unconsciously smiled. That was a good excuse if the higher-ups ever caught him eating food ‘too much’!

Sun Fuyu saw Wen Zhihao taking a bite, before picking up a pancake for himself. The smell was so fragrant, his mouth became wet with saliva.

...A scallion pancake...how long had it been since Sun Fuyu had one? This kind of food was not served in the Sect’s canteen (which typically served porridge and plain rice with a handful of side dishes). And before that...his ‘family’ hadn’t wanted to feed him at all…

Sun Fuyu took a bite of the pancake, and then couldn’t help himself in taking another bite. All too soon, the pancake was eaten.

“So you like them!” Wen Zhihao said happily, as though he was the one who made them. “Have another! Auntie Liu, thank you, they’re very delicious.”

Liu Jing’s lips twitched. “Good, eat up,” she said. “I’ll prepare a lunch box for you, yes?”

Wen Zhihao perked up. If she was offering, then… “Thank you, yes please! Can you put in some desserts too?” 

“I’ll see what we have,” Liu Jing said. “Does cultivator Sun also want a lunch box?”

“Say yes!” Wen Zhihao whispered loudly.

Sun Fuyu and Liu Jing both felt a thread of amusement.

“Yes please, auntie,” Sun Fuyu said in his obedient voice.

 _Yes, very good!_ Wen Zhihao praised him in his heart.

After breakfast, Liu Jing returned with two filled boxes of food. Wen Zhihao immediately put his away, but Sun Fuyu dithered.

“What’s wrong?”

Sun Fuyu’s bottom lip trembled. “I don’t have a spatial ring, this won’t fit…”

Wen Zhihao frowned. “Doesn’t everyone have one?”

Sun Fuyu’s head lowered even more. “I don’t have enough spiritual stones.”

Wen Zhihao’s mind flashed back to that bullying he saw on his first day of transmigration, when the other disciples were exhorting spiritual stones from him… Wen Zhihao’s eyes darkened. “Alright, how about I keep it for you? We can eat together, anyway.”

Sun Fuyu’s eyes reddened. “Thank you.”

“No thanks needed,” Wen Zhihao said. He also put away Sun Fuyu’s food box. “Are you full now?”

Sun Fuyu nodded obediently.

“Okay.” He smiled, and ushered Sun Fuyu over to Old Tang. “Old Tang, I’ll carry the leftovers to the kittens—I mean the demonic beasts—for you,” Wen Zhihao volunteered.

Old Tang agreed. Instead of carrying the baskets with his flying sword, Wen Zhihao now smartly placed them in his spatial ring. The two said goodbye to the food workers, and flew directly to the demonic beasts’ enclosure.

The cultivator in charge of this section of the demonic beasts enclosure, Huang Jialing, was currently standing by the fence, her arms crossed as she talked to another female cultivator.

...Wen Zhihao recognised the other cultivator. She was the one who roasted him for forgetting his sword previously.

When Wen Zhihao and Sun Fuyu landed, she clearly remembered Wen Zhihao.

 _Cough_.

Wen Zhihao cleared his throat and turned to Huang Jialing. “We’re here to feed the demonic beasts,” he said, taking out the basket of food from his spatial ring.

Huang Jialing rolled her eyes and let them in. “Don’t get attached to them,” she warned. After she closed the gate again, she and the other cultivator went somewhere else.

Wen Zhihao set down the basket of food. Immediately, the cats came over. Wen Zhihao shamelessly crouched down and said, “Did you miss me?”

“Meow!”

It wasn’t clear what they meant, but as they moved towards the food, they were basically also moving towards him!

Sun Fuyu shot a quick look at the demonic beasts. When they mostly ignored him, he finally sat down next to Wen Zhihao. “Wen-shixiong, are you planning to become a beast-tamer cultivator?”

Wen Zhihao fluffed up the fur on one of the kittens. “Life is more than just cultivation. If I had to train them, it wouldn't be fun at all.”

Also, if he trained them to be mean...then how could he have a good time playing with them?

“Fun…” Sun Fuyu mumbled to himself.

 _Of course, this era_ , Wen Zhihao remembered again. _The concept of teenager...probably doesn’t exist. People go from child to adult…_ And Sun Fuyu was so serious, not even playing with the kittens!

“Sun-shidi, do you want to go out of the Sect with me?”

Sun Fuyu’s eyes widened. But then his expression dropped. “I have classes.”

Wen Zhihao inwardly sighed. Sun Fuyu was studious, it was probably _not_ a good idea to convince him to skip classes. “How about in the evening? We can meet...say, at the gate of the enclosure, at the start of Dog Hour (7pm)?”

Sun Fuyu nodded like a chicken pecking rice. “I won’t be late!”

Wen Zhihao smiled. “Very good. We’ll be staying out overnight, so bring anything you need.”

Sun Fuyu nodded quickly again.

Sun Fuyu treasured the invitation in his heart, and even pressed down the embarrassment enough to confirm it again with Wen-shixiong when he had to leave for his classes. He felt like he floated, lighter than ever, as he flew over to the classroom buildings.

The outer-sect disciples were waiting outside, and a couple of them gave Sun Fuyu dark looks.

Wu Qingqing looked down on him. “Back again? Did you make Wen Zhihao angry?”

Sun Fuyu ignored her. When they entered the classroom, Sun Fuyu took out his few note-taking materials and worked studiously. He didn’t _need_ the rich brushes and papers that the other students had.

His lips curled up unconsciously when he remembered the crispy pancakes he had just this morning...he bet the others here only had plain porridge at best!

Those students had always lorded over him when they went out of the Sect and into town to buy things...but tonight, Sun Fuyu will be going out!


	15. 15. Shixiong gave me something???

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shoutout to all the people supporting this story!!

After Sun Fuyu left, Wen Zhihao decided to return to his room and...sleep. Since he was woken up way too early that morning!

By the time he woke up, it was an hour before he needed to go. He checked that he had all the things in his spatial ring and also skimmed over some of the jade slips. The beginner information flowed easily into his mind, as the original ‘Wen Zhihao’ had already thoroughly learnt these things. As for the sword cultivation manuals...it was really too much effort to try and practice the moves. Wen Zhihao had no allusions about his level of body coordination.

Before he left, Wen Zhihao stuck a sign on his door.

He reached the meeting point 5 minutes or so before time and was surprised to see that Sun Fuyu was already there, carrying a folded up blanket.

“Wen-shixiong!” Sun Fuyu immediately looked embarrassed at his outburst. “Wen-shixiong,” he repeated more quietly. “Are we going to the town?”

Actually...Wen Zhihao had meant to go out to the forest, but he didn’t want to make Sun Fuyu feel even more embarrassed, and...Wen Zhihao forgot that there was a town.

“Yes,” Wen Zhihao said, “That was exactly what I was planning to do.” 

The town should be in the opposite direction of the forest-area that Wen Zhihao previously explored.

Sun Fuyu smiled broadly. Wen Zhihao placed Sun Fuyu’s things into his spatial ring—which was starting to get full, given that it was only a small (cheap) one.

The two stood on their swords and flew. Luckily there was a clear road towards the town, or else they would get lost.

“ _...Go away! There’s no more space for you on the ox cart!”_

_“...But all my things...How about another two wen 1? I need to get to the town—”_

_1\. a unit of money; a copper coin_

_“—I don’t want you nor your money! Go and walk!”_

Wen Zhihao looked down at the people and the ox cart over at the road to the left that would later merge with the road the two were following.

A person...needing help to carry things...offering money…

See, Wen Zhihao was very clear that he didn’t have any ‘normal’ money. If he could acquire some so that he and Sun Fuyu could actually do more than just look around in town...wouldn’t that be a good thing?

Wen Zhihao beckoned to Sun Fuyu and both of them descended as the ox cart pulled away, leaving a frustrated woman, her child, and their baskets of things on the roadside.

“Good evening, ma’am,” Wen Zhihao greeted. Sun Fuyu echoed the greeting.

The woman gave them a frightened look. “G-good evening, master cultivators! How can I help you?”

“I think we can help _you_ ,” Wen Zhihao said. “We can carry these things for you. We can even fly you straight to town!”

The woman gripped her child’s hand. “...A-and….how much would that cost me?”

“10 wen?” To be honest, Wen Zhihao had no comparison point for the ancient money.

The woman shook her head. “No, I won’t dare do such a thing.”

“...Five wen? The faster you agree, the faster we can go,” Wen Zhihao said. “Truthfully, I need a tiny bit of mortal money...five wen is perfect.”

Sun Fuyu spoke up, “Wen-shixiong is dependable, we really are going to the town.”

After tense deliberation, the woman agreed. In her heart, she knew that...if these cultivators truly wanted to do something, she couldn’t stop them anyway.

Wen Zhihao helped tie the woman’s baskets to his sword—he didn’t put them away into his spatial ring, because he suspected she would be extremely nervous. Sun Fuyu was smaller and looked cuter, so he had the woman and her child climb on the back of Sun Fuyu’s sword to fly to town, with them holding onto Sun Fuyu’s back.

They flew slowly and relatively low to the ground, and slowly the woman and child eased up a little.

And then they passed by the ox-cart that previously rejected the woman.

Wen Zhihao laughed at their shocked expressions, and eventually bypassed them.

“Where do you need to go? We can take you and these things there directly. It’s no bother for us at all,” Wen Zhihao said graciously and very much in a good mood.

The woman eventually relented. She was scared when the two of them flew up higher—going _over_ the town buildings was much faster than weaving through the roads, but she pushed down her fear to direct them to her parents’ house.

Wen Zhihao and Sun Fuyu soon descended. The woman and child quickly hopped off the sword, while Wen Zhihao untied all the baskets.

“Thank you so much!” the woman said in relief. “I can only afford 100 wen—”

“Five was the price,” Wen Zhihao said.

“But—”

“Five, ma’am.”

The woman made a complicated expression but eventually gave them six copper coins. By this time, the gate of the house had opened, and an old man had come out.

_“...Daughter? Xiao 2 Ling? Why are you here?”_

_2\. little_

_“...Father died, grandma doesn’t want us…”_ the child answered.

_“Those cultivators…”_

_“They helped me here!”_ the woman quickly answered.

Wen Zhihao ignored them and gave those coins directly to Sun Fuyu. “Spending money! It’s all yours. If you want more money, Wen-shixiong will try to find more work, hahaha.”

Sun Fuyu stared at the coins. Unlike Wen Zhihao, he _did_ know that 6 wen was not a huge amount—Wu Qingqing often spent silver taels of money at a time (1 silver tael = 1000 wen). Even as a child, Sun Fuyu had earned more than this.

But the important thing was that _Wen-shixiong_ had given it all to him! (Conveniently forgetting that he had helped carry the woman and child.)

Wen Zhihao felt a little hopeless at Sun Fuyu’s wide-eyed expression. “Come on, the town awaits us, Sun-shidi.”

  


  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sun Fuyu: *carefully holds the six coins* Thank you, Wen-shixiong 🥺🥺
> 
> Wen Zhihao: This kid...too easily pleased! How is he going to survive in the harsh world... (little does he know Sun Fuyu's background)


	16. 16. Shixiong gave me more things???!!!

Between the two disciples, Wen Zhihao, despite being the older one, was definitely more curious. As a transmigrator, he had only seen such lively town scenes in movies and dramas. Experiencing it was very different. For one, it was a lot more noisy and dirty. And secondly, there were all the smells—the good and the less pleasant.

There wasn’t anything he wanted. Food could be had for free at the Sect’s kitchens, and he didn’t want or need other items.

Wen Zhihao _did_ listen out to the different hawkers. Small snacks could be bought for 1 wen, a bowl of meat noodles for 3 wen. The 6 wen he just gave to Sun Fuyu suddenly felt a bit small… As an adult who had ( _had_ ) a working job, Wen Zhihao felt depressed.

“Sun-shidi, this shixiong has wronged you for not having more money to give you…”

Sun Fuyu shook his head. “This amount is enough!” His eyes strayed to the dessert stores, then snapped back to Wen Zhihao.

... _Too obvious!_

“Buy whatever you want, Sun-shidi,” Wen Zhihao urged. “More money can be made later. Do you like those jian dui1?” __

_1\. fried sesame balls_

Sun Fuyu’s tongue flickered out, licking his lips. He nodded hesitantly.

Wen Zhihao pushed him towards the stall. “Go on.”

Sun Fuyu ended up buying two with a red bean filling, one for himself and one for Wen-shixiong. As a child...he had seen these desserts, but never was allowed to buy one, never had the opportunity to eat one. His eyes curved in happiness as he took a bite of the warm, oily pastry with its sweet filling.

Then, under Wen-shixiong’s urging, Sun Fuyu bought two skewers of tanghulu2.

_2\. hawthorn (fruit) coated in sugar_

With this, Sun Fuyu had 2 wen left over, which he put away for next time. He felt settled having these two treats that he had missed out during his childhood.

Wen Zhihao mentally patted himself on the back upon seeing Sun Fuyu’s contentedness. The town wasn’t big, so they soon saw all the main attractions. So Wen Zhihao finally took Sun Fuyu to the forest “camping ground” where Wen Zhihao had slept at before, completely skirting around the main Sect.

Sun Fuyu cleverly started a small fire with his qi, while Wen Zhihao took out all their bedding.

“Are you hungry for something more?” Wen Zhihao asked, taking out his food box. “I want something savoury after those sweet things.”

“En.”

Sun Fuyu waited until Wen Zhihao picked out a meat bun before picking the same thing.

“This place is very good for relaxing,” Wen Zhihao filled the silence after they finished eating. “I once slept here for days, peacefully and without disturbance. If you wanted to find a place to practice your sword in private, this place is also suitable...Oh! Speaking of swords!” Wen Zhihao took out most of the jade slips stored in his spatial ring. “Here, you can have these. They’re sword cultivation manuals.”

Sun Fuyu’s eyes brightened, but he shook his head. “I can’t accept them, Wen-shixiong.”

“I bought them, but I no longer want to be a sword cultivator. Rather than selling them back and losing money, isn’t it better if I give them to you? I know that you can put them to much better use,” Wen Zhihao urged. “Don’t be polite with me, and advance into the inner sect.”

“But…”

“Take it, take it,” Wen Zhihao threw them all at Sun Fuyu.

Sun Fuyu was really fast, catching all of them before he even registered what had happened. He stared at the jade slips in his hands in disbelief.

“I’m going to the stream nearby to wash up before going to sleep. Do as you please, shidi, okay?” He suppressed his laughter, afraid Sun Fuyu would take it the wrong way. Anyhow, he was glad to get those jade slips off his hands, so he no longer had the pressure that he needed to use them and not waste them.

Wen Zhihao really did as he said. He washed his hands and face and other nightly ablutions, headed back to the ‘campsite’, curled up on his blankets and fell asleep easily.

Sun Fuyu dithered a little. When he realised that Wen-shixiong _really_ had fallen asleep, only then did Sun Fuyu examine the jade slips.

He knew that Wen Zhihao was not one of the rich disciples, so he knew these could not be rare cultivation manuals. However, there was a wide range of them: three different styles, all enough to get him to Late Stage Foundation Building, and they were all better than what was offered in the Sect’s Outer Library. Sun Fuyu was currently only in Qi Refining. These manuals would be really useful, and if he was smart with mixing the styles in unexpected ways, he could perhaps win a place at the next Intra-Sect competition and advance into the Inner sect!

Sun Fuyu had felt really frustrated. Even though he was a second year disciple, he didn’t have any backing like the others, and so his progress had slowed compared to the others who had access to better materials, and/or even had the money to have older cultivators privately tutor them. He was only picked off the streets…

It felt like a cat was pawing at his heart. Had he...somehow...become someone backed by Wen Zhihao?

...That didn’t make sense at all. Unless Wen Zhihao had a secret identity... 

Sun Fuyu decided to ask teacher Zhang Wu to make sure the cultivation manuals were valid. For now, Sun Fuyu tucked the jade slips into his pockets and went to sleep on the opposite side of the fire’s embers.

  


  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wen Zhihao watching Sun Fuyu eat: ...Like a little rabbit (づ￣ ³￣)づ (this is all internal, of course)
> 
> Sun Fuyu sees Wen Zhihao smiling indulgently at him, and quickly hides his face.


	17. 17. The sun rise which comes every day, probably

Wen Zhihao awoke at the sound of movement. He yawned, cracking one eye open. The sky was just starting to streak with colour, and yet Sun Fuyu was already standing on the other side of the clearing, practicing some standard sword forms.

 _Ah, very dedicated_.

Wen Zhihao greeted him briefly, then went lazily to the stream to wash his face.

When he returned, he placed all the bedding etc. back into his spatial ring, and called out, “Sun-shidi, do you want to see the sunrise with me? We can go up the mountain a little more, a high vantage point is key.”

Sun Fuyu immediately stopped and hurried over to Wen Zhihao.

“We have time to walk,” Wen Zhihao said, ushering him along. After his many days here, Wen Zhihao was fairly familiar with his surroundings, the dim-but-brightening sky was surprisingly enough for him to see and navigate. “Did you sleep well?”

Sun Fuyu nodded. “Yes, Wen-shixiong.”

“Good sleep is the start of a good day,” Wen Zhihao said in a knowledgeable tone. When Sun Fuyu nodded seriously again, Wen Zhihao couldn’t help but crack a smile. “I hope you don’t believe everything that other people say,” he teased.

“I don’t,” Sun Fuyu said, his cheek puffing out slightly in indignation. “I can judge who’s good and who’s bad myself.”

“Very good,” Wen Zhihao praised. “Continue to work hard.”

Not long after, they emerged in a clearing of a cliff. It wasn’t at the top of the mountains, but it was still far above the plain forest below.

Wen Zhihao took out some bedding again to use as a picnic blanket and sat down, legs sprawling. He patted the space next to him. “Come, the sun takes a while to rise.”

Sun Fuyu carefully sat down, crossing his legs neatly.

Wen Zhihao smiled faintly, and looked at the horizon and the pinkish glowing sky. An ache in his chest eased a little. It was indeed nicer to have someone to see the sunrise with him.

Sun Fuyu, however, was sneaking glances at Wen Zhihao. _...What are we doing here? Is there something Wen-shixiong wants me to see?_ Sun Fuyu followed Wen Zhihao’s gaze with anticipation, but there was merely the horizon, bumpy with treetops and building tops, and the sky was lightening, heralding the new day. They would have to get back in time for morning sword practice...Sun Fuyu won’t be able to beat Wu Qingqing yet, but he _will_ soon.

Wen Zhihao noticed Sun Fuyu’s restlessness. “Are you hungry? I can take out our food boxes.”

Sun Fuyu shook his head. “I don’t eat before sword practice. Wen-shixiong…”

“Hm, what is it?”

“Wen-shixiong, forgive me if I say something wrong…”

“Ask me without worry, don’t be polite.” 

“This shidi would like to know...what are we doing? Is this a new cultivation technique?”

“Aiya, is cultivation the only thing you think about?” Wen Zhihao joked. “Last night, we visited the town. That wasn’t cultivation, and neither is this.” Wen Zhihao looked at the sky, at the peeking sun. The glow of orange-pink was slowly overtaking the dark blue of the night sky. “The scenery is beautiful. Enjoy it, okay?”

Sun Fuyu stared a little at Wen Zhihao’s eyes, looking softly into the distance. Sun Fuyu lowered his eyes, and said softly, “Okay, shixiong.”

Wen Zhihao felt a bit helpless at how polite and obedient Sun Fuyu was being, even though it was clear that he didn’t understand what Wen Zhihao meant. Ah, but Wen Zhihao was too lazy to explain, with the sunrise happening right now. He’ll have to make it up to Sun Fuyu later.

Back when he lived in the city, seeing the sunrise was virtually impossible. Tall buildings blocked the horizon, and lights and air pollution cheapened the rise of the sun. Not to mention that Wen Zhihao was either asleep whenever the sun rose, or was already working (or working all through the night).

In this cultivation world, Wen Zhihao wondered whether or not the sun was the same nuclear ball of plasma, or whether the sun was a literal god, or something. The memories of the original ‘Wen Zhihao’ were not particularly helpful.

He wanted to capture the sunrise with a camera again...or was that a weird 21st century habit? The sunrise (probably) comes every day. Wen Zhihao could come every day to see it, and seeing it happen like this would be much more immersive than in a picture, anyway.

Streaks of sunlight lit the forest canopy with a bright green against the darkness, pulling Wen Zhihao’s thoughts back to the present. Light spread across the landscape, long shadows shortened. The leaves rustled, and birds tweeted, and roosters crowed off in the distance.

The sun rising every day was part of the rhythm of life. It was so common, yet so fundamental to the flourishing of nature on earth. The sun was bursting with energy and vitality and even qi, rising higher and higher, the dark blue fading to light blue.

A vague feeling caught in Wen Zhihao’s chest as the sensation of the sun’s qi spread across his face. He felt like a plant capturing the sunlight, except that he didn’t _need_ more qi, and it was threatening to overflow inside of him.

Something on the ground glinted as the sun’s rays alighted upon it, almost as bright as a star. Wen Zhihao leant over and picked it up. It was a rock with smooth glass-like sides. It was in fact a dark grey colour, but when the light reflected from it, it was very bright.

_I wonder…_

Wen Zhihao imagined grasping the overflowing warm qi in his body, drawing it down to his hand and into the rock. The too-full-on-qi feeling dissipated as the rock warmed and began to glow softly.

The corners of Wen Zhihao’s mouth turned up. _Haha!! Unexpectedly, it worked!_ If he needed night lamps, he could just do this: it was like the garden lamps that used solar panels to charge up during the day, so that they can emit light during the night. It was a good cost-saving measure!

The small capitalist side of Wen Zhihao’s brain also added, _Do cultivators use lamps? Do mortals use them? These can be sold, (probably) no risk of fire, no harmful smoke!_

He turned to show it to Sun Fuyu. Who knew when Sun Fuyu had turned to look at him: his lighter brown eyes were a little dazed, staring at the glowing rock in Wen Zhihao’s hand.

Wen Zhihao’s eyes softened. “Here, Sun-shidi.”

Sun Fuyu’s eyes widened. “Wen-shixiong, this shidi does not covet…”

“Then I should discard it here then, if you don’t wish for it, and we’ll see whose fate it is to pick it up,” Wen Zhihao said, teasing him.

As expected, Sun Fuyu immediately changed his tune, swallowing. “Wen-shixiong…” he said, sounding wronged.

 _Okay, I really should stop teasing him!_ “Here, take it and do as you wish with it,” Wen Zhihao said. He took Sun Fuyu’s hand and pressed the stone into his palm. Then, he kindly looked away, so that Sun Fuyu wouldn’t feel undue pressure.

By now, the sun was fully above the horizon.

“Thank you, shixiong,” Sun Fuyu said in a soft voice. His fingers curled around the stone. He could feel Wen-shixiong’s qi enmating gently from it, smooth and warm.

Aside from the sect scouts who had first brought Sun Fuyu to the Golden Sun Sect to train, Wen Zhihao was the first person to give him multiple things like this… He sneakily glanced at Wen-shixiong, and looked away in embarrassment when Wen-shixiong smiled back at him.

_Meanwhile, back at the sect:_

Zhang Wu stood outside Wen Zhihao’s door, meaning to collect him _early_ for once. Except, there was a sign stuck on the door in poorly written characters: “in secluded cultivation, don’t disturb!”

Zhang Wu: (╯°Д°)╯ ┻━┻


End file.
